MACTAQUAC, N.B. — The federal government has announced nearly $270 million in financing and funding for two New Brunswick electricity projects, including early work on a multibillion-dollar rehabilitation of the province’s largest renewable-energy asset.

The package announced Tuesday includes a $219-million site-development loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to NB Power for the Mactaquac Life Achievement Project. Natural Resources Canada will also provide $50 million for new grid-stability equipment at the Salisbury Terminal in southern New Brunswick.

Loan funds planning, not the full rebuild

The $219-million loan will support technical studies, regulatory reviews, First Nations engagement and other planning work for Mactaquac. It is not financing for the entire rehabilitation.

NB Power currently estimates the full project will cost between $7.6 billion and $9 billion, including interest and inflation over its life. The utility says shareholder review is expected in spring 2027 and federal Fisheries Act authorization is also still required.

The Mactaquac Generating Station is a 672-megawatt run-of-river hydroelectric facility. It supplies about 30 per cent of New Brunswick’s legislated renewable-energy requirements and 20 per cent of the province’s peak electricity-capacity needs.

The station was commissioned in the late 1960s but has experienced premature concrete deterioration caused by an alkali-aggregate reaction. NB Power says the process has produced structural misalignment and cracking that affects equipment including turbines and spillway gates.

The utility chose rehabilitation after studying decommissioning and replacement options. Major construction is expected to continue into 2037 or 2038, with generating units rebuilt in phases so most of the station can remain in service.

$50 million for voltage support

The separate $50-million contribution will support a static synchronous compensator, or STATCOM, at NB Power’s Salisbury Terminal.

That equipment provides fast-acting voltage support. NB Power says it will help the southern New Brunswick grid withstand disturbances, serve growing electricity demand and integrate more renewable energy. The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board approved the project in 2025, and the utility expects it to be completed by the end of 2028.

The federal announcement describes the two investments as measures to improve reliability and support a cleaner electricity system. The stated benefits and timelines remain subject to project execution and, in Mactaquac’s case, additional approvals.

Sources: Natural Resources Canada, October 13; NB Power: Mactaquac Life Achievement Project; NB Power: Salisbury STATCOM project.

Lead image: Flag of New Brunswick via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Illustrative image.